"A meeting has taken place between the representatives of various Palestinian factions in the Gaza Strip late Wednesday to end the political divisions and discuss national reconciliation in light of the ongoing developments in the region and growing demand by the Palestinian people to end the long-standing split.

Absent from the meeting, however, were the representatives of Fatah movement.

The need to restructure the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) was highlighted during the meeting.

The participants also agreed to organize a rally on Friday to show solidarity among all Palestinian factions, as well as their desire for reconciliation and a national unity government.

Fatah says nothing constructive can possibly come out of the Gaza meeting, and instead has called on the Palestinian people to take to the streets and demand an end to the political division.

The two largest Palestinian factions split in June 2007, about 18 months after Hamas won Palestinian parliamentary elections in 2006. In the ensuing clashes between the two parties, Hamas took control of the Gaza Strip and pushed the Fatah movement out of the enclave.

The inter-Palestinian rivalry is a major obstacle hampering Israeli-Palestinian Authority talks. Hamas, which has refused to recognize Israel, has denounced the direct negotiations between Israel and the PA. The talks, which resumed in early September after an almost two-year hiatus, came to a halt over the issue of ongoing Israeli settlement construction in the West Bank.

PressTVGlobalNews on Mar 10, 2011

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